1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire measuring and cutting apparatus for producing a wire having a predetermined length as a constituent element of a wire harness, and a wire changing method using the apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The wire harness incorporated into automobiles, copying machines, etc. are mainly composed of a plurality of wires which are cut into a predetermined length and crimped with terminals at both ends (hereinafter referred to as "size-adjusted wire"). In order to produce the size-adjusted wire as the constituent element of the wire harness, a wire cutting and measuring apparatus for cutting wires into a predetermined length, stripping the insulative sheath on both ends of the wire and then crimping terminals to both ends of the wire is publicly known (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-270020).
Further, an apparatus wherein a so-called intermediate stripping mechanism is further provided to the above-described wire measuring and cutting apparatus has been applied as a prior application (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-250935).
By the way, when the size-adjusted wire is produced by means of the wire measuring and cutting apparatus according to the above prior art, it is necessary to change wires if production conditions are changed. For example, after producing N.sub.1 of size-adjusted wires were produced from A wire, N.sub.2 of size-adjusted wires were produced from B wire, furthermore, N.sub.3 of size-adjusted wires were produced from C wire, etc., thus predetermined number of size-adjusted wires having a predetermined length were produced, respectively, from predetermined wires as to respective production conditions. Therefore, wires are normally changed several times a day in one wire measuring and cutting apparatus. Further, a conventional wire measuring and cutting apparatus had a disadvantage that several meters of unnecessary wire are generated whenever wires are changed.
This disadvantage will be explained with reference to an embodiment of FIG. 7.
A wire measuring and cutting device 1 is fed with wire through a passline 2. On the upstream end of the passline 2, various wound wires 3a, 3b, 3c are arranged, any one of which, for example, a wire 3a is retrieved and fed to the wire measuring and cutting apparatus 1 through a passline 2. Here, given the wire cutting location in the wire measuring and cutting apparatus 1 (cutting location due to a cutter) as A, and the wire retrieving exit at the upstream end of the passline 2 as B, then given the length between A and B, i.e. the length of the passline 2 as 11 m, and given 500 of size-adjusted wires of 3 m in length will be produced from wire 3a. In the conventional wire measuring and cutting apparatus, in this case, the apparatus 1 is temporarily stopped at the point where 497 of size-adjusted wires have been produced, and wire 3a is cut at the point B, then the next wire, for example, wire 3b is spliced to wire to produce the next wire, then the wire measuring and cutting apparatus is re-operated to produce the remaining three wires from wire 3a remaining in the passline 2.
Here, since the length of the passline is 11 m and that of size-adjusted wires is 3 m, giving eleven divided by three is three with reminder 2 m, thereby generating 2 m of wire as wasteful wire.